A Crashed UFO Tale: Inspired By A Novel?

The following report – titled “Research Findings on the Chihuahua Disk Crash, originally from ‘JS’ to ‘Deneb Team Members'” and dated March 23, 1992 – was mailed anonymously to the late UFO researcher Elaine Douglass in July 1993. She forwarded the report to crashed UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield, who later published it. It tells a fascinating story of a crashed UFO, mysterious deaths, a huge conspiracy, and much more. But, is the story true? As we try and find the answer, let’s begin with the report itself, which I have presented, below, without interruption:

“On 25 Aug. 74, at 2207 hrs., U.S. Air Defense radar detected an unknown approaching U.S. airspace from the Gulf of Mexico. Originally the object was tracked at 2,200 knots (2530 mph) on a bearing of 325 degrees and at an altitude of 75,000 feet, a course that would intercept U.S. territory about forty miles southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas. After approximately sixty seconds of observation, at a position 155 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, the object simultaneously decelerated to approximately 1700 knots (1955 mph), turned to a heading of 290 degrees, and began a slow descent. It entered Mexican airspace approximately forty miles south of Brownsville, Texas. Radar tracked it approximately 500 miles to a point near the town of Coyame, in the state of Chihuahua, not far from the U.S. border. There the object suddenly disappeared from the radar screens.

“During the flight over Mexican airspace, the object leveled off at 45,000 feet, then descended to 20,000 feet. The descent was in level steps, not a smooth curve or straight line, and each level was maintained for approximately five minutes. The object was tracked by two different military radar installations. It would have been within range of Brownsville civilian radar, but it is assumed that no civilian radar detected the object due to a lack of any such reports. The point of disappearance from the radar screens was over a barren and sparsely populated area of Northern Mexico. At first it was assumed that the object had descended below the radar’s horizon and a watch was kept for any re-emergence of the object. None occurred.

“At first it was assumed that the object might be a meteor because of the high speed and descending flight path. But meteors normally travel at higher speeds, and descend in a smooth arc, not in ‘steps.’ And meteors do not normally make a thirty-five degree change in course. Shortly after detection, an air defense alert was called. However, before any form of interception could be scrambled, the object turned to a course that would not immediately take it over U.S. territory. The alert was called off within twenty minutes after the object’s disappearance from the radar screen. Fifty-two minutes after the disappearance, civilian radio traffic indicated that a civilian aircraft had gone down in that area. But it was clear that the missing aircraft had departed El Paso International with a destination of Mexico City, and could not, therefore, have been the object tracked over the Gulf of Mexico. It was noted, however, that they both disappeared in the same area and at the same time.

“With daylight the next day, Mexican authorities began a search for the missing plane. Approximately 1035 hrs there came a radio report that wreckage from the missing plane had been spotted from the air. Almost immediately came a report of a second plane on the ground a few miles from the first. A few minutes later an additional report stated that the second “plane” was circular shaped and apparently in one piece although damaged. A few minutes after that the Mexican military clamped a radio silence on all search efforts.

“The radio interceptions were reported through channels to the CIA. Possibly as many as two additional government agencies also received reports, but such has not been confirmed as of this date. The CIA immediately began forming a recovery team. The speed with which this team and its equipment was assembled suggests that this was either a well-rehearsed exercise or one that had been performed prior to the event. In the meantime requests were initiated at the highest levels between the United States and Mexican governments that the U.S. recovery team be allowed onto Mexican territory to “assist.” These requests were met with professed ignorance and a flat refusal of any cooperation. By 2100 hrs, 26 Aug. 74, the recovery team had assembled and been staged at Fort Bliss. Several helicopters were flown in from some unknown source and assembled in a secured area.

UH1 Huey

“These helicopters were painted a neutral sand color and bore no markings. Eyewitness indicates that there were three smaller craft, very possibly UH1 Hueys from the description. There was also a larger helicopter, possibly a Sea Stallion. Personnel from this team remained with their craft and had no contact with other Fort Bliss personnel.

“Satellite and reconnaissance aircraft overflight that day indicated that both the crashed disk and the civilian aircraft had been removed from the crash sites and loaded on flat-bed trucks. Later flights confirmed that the convoy had departed the area heading south. At that point the CIA had to make a choice, either to allow this unknown aircraft to stay in the hands of the Mexican government, or to launch the recovery team, supplemented by any required military support, to take the craft. There occurred, however, an event that took the choice out of their hands. High altitude overflights indicated that the convoy had stopped before reaching any inhabited areas or major roads. Recon showed no activity, and radio contact between the Mexican recovery team and its headquarters ceased. A low altitude, high speed overflight was ordered.

“The photos returned by that aircraft showed all trucks and jeeps stopped, some with open doors, and two human bodies lying on the ground beside two vehicles. The decision was immediately made to launch the recovery team but the actual launching was held up for the arrival of additional equipment and two additional personnel. It was not until 1438 hrs. that the helicopters departed Fort Bliss. The four helicopters followed the border down towards Presidio then turned and entered Mexican airspace north of Candelaria. They were over the convoy site at 1653 hrs. All convoy personnel were dead, most within the trucks. Some recovery team members, dressed in bio-protection suits, reconfigured the straps holding the object on the flatbed truck, then attached them to a cargo cable from the Sea Stallion. By 1714 hrs the recovered object was on its way to U.S. territory. Before leaving the convoy site, members of the recovery team gathered together the Mexican vehicles and bodies, then destroyed all with high explosives. This included the pieces of the civilian light plane which had been involved in the mid-air collision. At 1746 hrs the Huey’s departed.

“The Hueys caught up with the Sea Stallion as it re-entered U.S. airspace. The recovery team then proceeded to a point in the Davis Mountains, approximately twenty-five miles north east of Valentine. There they landed and waited until 0225 hrs. the next morning. At that time they resumed the flight and rendezvoused with a small convoy on a road between Van Horn and Kent. The recovered disk was transferred to a truck large enough to handle it and capable of being sealed totally. Some of the personnel from the Hueys transferred to the convoy.

All helicopters then returned to their original bases for decontamination procedures. The convoy continued non-stop, using back roads and smaller highways, and staying away from cities. The destination of the convoy reportedly was Atlanta, Georgia. Here the hard evidence thins out. One unconfirmed report says the disk was eventually transferred to Wright-Patterson A.F. Base. Another says that the disk was either transferred after that to another unnamed base, or was taken directly to this unknown base directly from Atlanta. The best description of the disk was that it was sixteen feet, five inches in diameter, convex on both upper and lower surfaces to the same degree, possessing no visible doors or windows. The thickness was slightly less than five feet. The color was silver, much like polished steel. There was no visible lights nor any propulsion means. There were no markings.

“There were two areas of the rim that showed damage, one showing an irregular hole approximately twelve inches in diameter with indented material around it. The other damage was described as a ‘dent’ about two feet wide. The weight of the object was estimated as approximately one thousand five hundred pounds, based on the effect of the weight on the carrying helicopter and those who transferred it to the truck. There was no indication in the documentation available as to whether anything was visible in the ‘hole.’

“It seems likely that the damage with the hole was caused by the collision with the civilian aircraft. That collision occurred while the object was traveling approximately 1700 knots (1955 mph). Even ignoring the speed of the civilian aircraft, the impact would have been considerable at that speed. This is in agreement with the description of the civilian aircraft as being “almost totally destroyed.” What was being taken from the crash site were pieces of the civilian aircraft. The second damage may have resulted when the object impacted with the ground. The speed in that case should have been considerably less than that of the first impact.

“No mention is made of the occupants of the civilian aircraft. It is not known if anybody or bodies were recovered. Considering the destruction of the civilian light aircraft in mid-air, bodies may well not have come down near the larger pieces.

“Unfortunately, what caused the deaths of the Mexican recovery team is not known. Speculation ranges from a chemical released from the disk as a result of the damage, to a microbiological agent. There are no indications of death or illness by any of the [U.S.] recovery team. It would not have been illogical for the recovery team to have taken one of the bodies back with them for analysis. But there is no indication of that having happened. Perhaps they did not have adequate means of transporting what might have been a biologically contaminated body. Inquiries to the FAA reveal no documents concerning the civilian aircraft crash, probably because it did not involve a U.S. aircraft nor did it occur over U.S. airspace. It should be noted that the above facts do not tell the complete story. Nothing is known of the analysis of the craft or its contents. Nothing is known about the deaths associated with the foreign recovery team. Nor is it known if this craft was manned or not.

“Other questions also remain, such as why would a recovered disk be taken to Atlanta? And where did the disk come from? It was first detected approximately 200 miles from U.S territory, yet U.S. air defenses extend to a much greater distance than that. If the object descended into the atmosphere, perhaps NORAD space tracking has some record of the object. Alternate possibility is that it entered the Gulf of Mexico under radar limits then “jumped” up to 75,000 feet. Considering prior behavior exhibited by disks of this size, it is probable that the entry was from orbital altitude. The facts that are known have been gathered from two eye witness accounts, documentation illegally copied, and a partially destroyed document. This was done in 1978 by a person who is now dead. Only in February of this year did the notes and documents come into the hands of our group.”

Well, that’s quite a story. It’s also quite familiar. In the world of fiction, a very similar scenario was played out in Michael Crichton’s novel and movie, The Andromeda Strain.

The book was published in 1969 and the movie was released in 1971. A TV mini-series followed in 2008. In the story a satellite of the U.S. military crashes to Earth in a small, isolated town in Arizona. Unknown to anyone, the satellite has brought back on its shell a deadly virus of unearthly origins. That only becomes clear when people start to die, their blood turned to powder. Suddenly, the race is on to find a cure to prevent the virus from wiping out not just the people of the little town, or even of just Arizona – but the entire world. Crichton’s story is indeed a cautionary one and which shows just how quickly the human race might come to a crashing end when faced with something so unpredictable and poorly understood as an alien virus.

Read the novel, or watch the movie, and you’ll see undeniable parallels between both of them and the alleged 1974 events described above. In their 2007 book, Mexico’s Roswell: The Chihuahua UFO Crash</em>, authors Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte suggest across approximately 200-pages that the event was real. Maybe it was. But, consider this: the alleged UFO is said to have vanished off the radar screens near the Mexican village of Coyame. The village just happens to be less than a 2-hour drive from the Texas town of Shafter, where portions of The Andromeda Strain were filmed…

Nick Redfern works full time as a writer, lecturer, and journalist. He writes about a wide range of unsolved mysteries, including Bigfoot, UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster, alien encounters, and government conspiracies. Nick has written 41 books, writes for Mysterious Universe and has appeared on numerous television shows on the The History Channel, National Geographic Channel and SyFy Channel.